Deadline Poet Or, My Life As a Doggerelist [Hardcover]

Calvin Trillin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

The humorist author of Remembering Denny and If You Can't Say Something Nice combines a selection of his outrageous, whimsical verses with personal anecdotes and astute political observations. 40,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Around 1990
with The Nation in mind, the
pundit named Trillin
determined he was willin'
to mine politics' grapevine
and write verse on deadline.
His first inspiration was the sound of Sununu.
From there he lambasted, oh, who knew who:
A bachelor named Souter, a court nominee supreme,
Ron, George, and "SAD-dam," and gun nuts extreme;
Jesse and Mario, Bill, Bob, and Paul,
candidates and may-have-beens, one and all;
Bush, we're reminded, lost his lunch in Japan--
not nearly as horrifying as Quayle comma Dan.
Calvin, he thrills at the Texan Perot,
for the rhymingest name on the season's ballot.
The new era was Democrat, with Clinton and Gore.
One still has Bubba fat; the other's a bore.
No one escapes Trillin's sharp, sharp-honed wit,
Excepting the reader, for whom the laughs just don't quit. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In an irreverent, hilarious romp, Trillin ( Uncivil Liberties ) wraps a running political and cultural commentary around the weekly topical verses he has written for the Nation since 1990. His barbed satirical poems and accompanying essays find their mark in deflating Quayle, Ross Perot, "Republonazi" David Duke and Margaret Thatcher. There are also witty verses on the Supreme Court's rightward drift, the reunification of Germany, Madonna, Father's Day and Princess Di. Trillin's coverage of the Bush-Clinton contest points up the triumph of image in presidential campaigns. Clinton's NAFTA legislation, his health care plan and his lurch to the center lead Trillin to observe that "Presidents sort of blend together, somewhere in the middle. . . . This seemed particularly true of Bill Clinton and George Bush."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T); 1st edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374135525
• ISBN-13: 978-0374135522
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, July 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadline Poet: My Life As a Doggerelist (Paperback)

I wish I could write this review in verse. That is what the book really calls for. Failing that I will simply say that the only trouble with this book is that you find yourself annoying everyone around you by constantly reading it aloud. It should not be missed.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thanks a million mr trillin, December 11, 1999

By 

lloyd hatch ("the heart of wine county" st. helena, california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadline Poet: My Life As a Doggerelist (Paperback)

If your load is heavy, here's a load lightner, If your life needs some light, Read this gosh darn book now, and again tonight.

But, of all the humble souls, you missed but one. The book I finished reading, it's closed, readings done.

...Mr. T.

Where the hell is Henry K., but let's call him "Hank" Maybe discussing his IQ with "so new nue" Or waiting in line at the humility bank?